Category: Uncategorized

The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.   During the week of May 6 to May 10, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,082 pages, bringing…

The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.   During the week of April 29 to May 3, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,752 pages, bringing…

A group of congressmen introduced the ALJ Competitive Service Restoration Act on May 1, which aims to restore administrative law judges (ALJs) to the competitive service.   President Donald Trump (R) moved ALJs from the competitive service to the excepted service—two subsets of the larger civil service—through Executive Order 13843 in July 2018. Trump issued…

President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to propose regulations to, according to the President, “strengthen asylum procedures to safeguard our system against rampant abuse of our asylum process.”   The memo, issued on April 29, 2019, gives the Department of Justice and the Department…

As of May 1, 2019, an additional three states have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) in 2019. Colorado, Delaware, and New Mexico—all Democratic trifectas—joined the compact earlier this year.   The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an interstate compact to award member state’s presidential electors to the winner of the…

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane issued a nationwide preliminary injunction to block a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) aimed at keeping Title X fund recipients from engaging in abortion-related activities. McShane’s ruling follows a similar decision made by Judge Stanley Bastian in the Eastern District of Washington, who…

In April 2019, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 44 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies—the highest monthly review count of the Trump administration to-date. The agency approved one rule without changes and approved the intent of 39 rules while recommending changes to their content. Agencies withdrew four rules…

Gubernatorial and state legislative elections are taking place in five states in 2019. These elections could affect existing Republican trifectas in Kentucky and Mississippi and the Democratic trifecta in New Jersey. New trifectas could potentially form in Louisiana and Virginia.   A trifecta, which describes when one party holds the governorship, a majority in the state senate,…

In 2019, Ballotpedia is publishing primary election competitiveness data following each state’s major-party candidate filing deadline. Five states will hold regular statewide elections: Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana will hold elections for state executive offices, and Mississippi, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Virginia will hold elections for state legislative seats. Filing deadlines have passed in every state…

In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, one state voted for the winning candidate more than 90 percent of the time. And one state did so less than 50 percent of the time.   Ohio’s electoral votes have gone to the winning president 93 percent of the time—in 28 out of 30 general elections—since 1900.…